In addition to the creation of a new email alert system, the City of Long Beach is planning to make a pricey redesign to its website.
The Long Beach City Council voted 7-0 on Feb. 19 to spend $212,486 on its website overhaul, according to the City of Long Beach’s website.
“Our site hasn’t been updated since 2004,” Long Beach Vice Mayor Robert Garcia said. “[The website will have] a clean and crisp design that’s easy to use.”
According to Garcia, the newly redesigned website will create a virtual city hall and allow for expanded services, like online bill payment, neighborhood mapping and videos of City Council meetings.
According to the city’s website, $112,186 of the total cost will be for website design, $81,100 for software and training services and $19,200 for social media and email services.
For some students, like sophomore kinesiology major Alissa Huerta, renovating the website is not necessary.
“I do not agree with using money on things that are not even … necessary,” Huerta said. “$212,000 is a price that we [citizens] cannot afford to pay during these difficult times.”
To pay for this project, surplus oil revenue will be used, Garcia said.
For other students, like junior graphic design major Sebastian Quintero, spending $212,486 on a new website is unwise.
“I’m concerned that it would cost $212,486 to renovate a website when we have an art school [that can] do the same work for a cheaper price,” Quintero said.
The decision to redesign the city website comes weeks after the City Council announced the creation of a city email alert system.
The alert system allows for citizens to sign up for reminders about meetings that relate to them.
“I’m very supportive [of the website], the more open experience the better,” Garcia said.